Sembly is an online classroom management tool. Sign up as a teacher or student to begin. The teacher version allows you to create and add classes. After adding students, they receive a class code allowing them to enter the class. Create assignments with deadlines for students from your dashboard. The assignment option also provides the opportunity for collaboration and interaction between students and teachers. Upload files from your computer, Google Drive, DropBox, and Evernote to add to assignments or share with your class. Sembly is available online and for mobile devices with apps available for all operating systems.

In the Classroom

Use Sembly to manage and organize any classroom. Maintain a classroom calendar so students can easily find due dates and deadlines for homework and projects. Reminder notices will be automatically generated. Share information with parents to keep them up to date. Use the discussion feature as a resource for keeping students involved over long holidays or on a snow day. Sembly is an interactive and collaborative program. Challenge literature circles to complete write ups, discussions, and final presentations about the book they read using Sembly. Lab partners can present their findings, and math students can demonstrate how they solved a problem.

Create a simple crossword and save it online. Give your crossword a title, see an example of how to set it up, and get started. Once finished create a passcode (write it down to remember it) and click Generate. The next screen will allow you to edit, regenerate, or save. Once saved you can create a Word or PDF document or share using one of many social networks. Be sure to copy the URL and save it with your passcode. There is no registration involved.

In the Classroom

Use this tool to create crosswords to review any topic. Help students study new vocabulary by providing the definition and challenging students to write the correct word. Create sight word crosswords for younger students. Crossword Labs is an excellent review tool for science or social studies. Put a short description of an event or famous person and students write in the name of the event or person as the answer. Encourage students to create crosswords for each other as a review or as a follow up for the audience after an oral presentation. Learning support teachers can create them together with students as an engaging way to review. World language teachers (and students) can create crosswords to reinforce vocabulary.

Discover a powerful, adaptive, personalized learning program in Knewton. Knewton delivers video or written content to students in math, science, or English and then asks multiple-choice questions. The next selections are based on the student's responses and those of similar students. Knewton figures out what each student knows and how each student learns best. So the more the student uses Knewton, the more Knewton learns about the right speed and sequencing to serve up the content. The material is for grades 6 - 12 in Math, grades 4 - 6 in English Language Arts, grades 9 - 11 in Biology, and soon Knewton will have materials for History. At the time of this review, the FAQ also stated that you will soon be able to upload your own content. Sign up is with email or a Gmail account and easy for both students and teachers. If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable. You could always view them at home and bring them to class "on a stick" to share. Use a tool such as KeepVid, reviewed here, to download the videos from YouTube.

In the Classroom

Introduce Knewton on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Students can sign up using the URL for your Knewton class, or by you putting in either their email, Knewton username, or account information. There is a very detailed FAQ section where you can learn all about the teacher dashboard and monitoring student progress. You could use this tool as a daily bell ringer assignment or at a center. You could also assign this for homework. Once students finish the selection, the tool will present another to work on right away. You may want to specify how many selections you want the students to complete on Knewton in each class session. Knewton will allow you to continue in the same area the next time you sign in. Working on these assignments through the year will improve your students' skills and literacy in Math, English, and Biology. Remember, History will be added soon. Post the link to Knewton on your class web page for students to use at home.

Develop and design games and learn programming skills at the same time using Sketch Nation Create. This tool works on the web, iOS, and Android. To get started click the app of choice and then click settings and register. Once registered (no email required) select Create, the Genre, and your choice of Simple, Advanced, or Expert Modes. Choose to draw or import pictures to use for the background, characters, objects, and scenery. Make simple games while learning a little about programming and game design. Click the Getting Started tab to register. Look at the many examples and ideas under Education.

In the Classroom

If you only have a few computers, introduce this tool using a projector or interactive whiteboard and bookmark it as a learning station with earbuds/headphones. Allow students to explore and learn on their own at classroom computer centers or individual laptops. Sketch Nation is an engaging interactive to learn basic coding skills even for younger students. Encourage learning by telling them to ask three other students first before asking the teacher AND that it is okay if we learn it together. Once students get the hang of beginning programming tips, encourage them to make apps, games, or digital stories for other courses such as videos explaining photosynthesis, book readings from authors, famous battles from history, or different genres of music and art. Have students use a storyboard to write down what they plan to do/draw/say with their creation, and to keep tabs on students and their progress. For creating digital storyboards see Amazon Storybuilder, reviewed here, or Storyboard Generator, reviewed here. Share this on your website for students to use at home, too. Sketch Nation Create teaches the basics. Those students who show a keen interest in coding could learn more by using a program such as Anybody Can Learn to Code, reviewed here, Kodable, reviewed here, or Codeacademy, reviewed here.

ARKive is a spectacular digital library with over 100,000 images and photographs showcasing a record of life on Earth. The focus of ARKive's content is to raise awareness of the world's endangered species. Browse through the site using links to species, places, or topics and use filters to narrow down content as desired. Find lesson plans and more for educators sorted by age levels under the Educate tab. Make sure you visit the Fun section to discover the world's favorite species, play games, take quizzes, and much more!

In the Classroom

Use this site as the starting point for individual or group projects. The site grants permission for educational download and use of the images (NOT on a web page), provided you include the copyright information with each image. Have students create sets of images to illustrate a report or make graphic organizers illustrating families of animals from your area and their classifications into kingdom, phylum, etc. By letting students choose their own animals and examples, the task will have more meaning to them. Individuals can set up memberships (click My ARKive) to make "scrapbooks" of images and information. Membership requires a valid email address (info about your registration is sent there), so a whole-class or teacher account may be the easiest way to use it. Create a link on classroom computers for students to explore on their own. If your students are creating an online poster or digital story to present their research, this is an excellent opportunity to point out the copyright on this site and challenge students to find the same information on a website they can use with proper citation.

Learn about the growing gap between upper and lower income families in the United States through a series of cartoon images. Scroll through the page to see all images or click on any image to view as a slideshow. Each cartoon presents information beginning with the Great Depression to demonstrate the progression of the growing gap between top earners and all others.

In the Classroom

Include this presentation with your lesson materials for any unit on the 20th Century or current events. Share on your whiteboard (or projector) during an election unit and have students research candidate's proposals for addressing income inequalities. Have students explore this topic further, then have them create a simple infographic sharing their findings using Easel.ly, reviewed here. Use this information as a starting point for classroom debates on current events, economics, and more. Challenge students to create maps using Animaps, reviewed here, to include income information from around the country. Students can add text, images, and location stops with Animaps!

Focus on the Twitter chats you want to follow easily and in real-time with tchat. Sign up for tchat through your Twitter account. Input the hashtag you wish to follow and all other tweets will be filtered out. tchat opens in a new tab; that means you can still see other Tweets on your Twitter account tab at the same time you are following a chat. Reply right from tchat without leaving the page; send and continue reading the conversation. The menu bar at the top allows pause and play, it stops refreshing, allowing you to find what you are looking for and to reply or retweet the information without losing it, and then resumes when you click play. You can also block retweets. Either sign in to stop the pop-up when you want to respond, or use tchat without signing in to have the pop-up and see all of the chat on the side. Each reply will automatically include the hashtag.

In the Classroom

Sometimes it's hard to stay focused on a group Twitter chat. Take advantage of this tool to avoid distractions and communicate only with the members of the chat session. It's a relief to use this tool and be able to take your time commenting back and forth and not have to hunt through countless other Tweets to find your group and that one comment where you want to reply. tchat is the perfect tool to use with Twitter in the classroom so students will stay focused on your topic. If your class is following a scientist, engineer, politician, or any other professional, invite them to a chat to converse with your students and have the students stay focused. If you are taking an online class and one of the requirements is to participate in a Twitter chat, this tool is perfect to help you meet your goal.

Use tchat on laptops during a video or student presentations. Pose questions for all to answer/discuss using an assigned hashtag. Ask students to pose their own "I wonder if..." questions as they watch and listen. Keep every student engaged and THINKING as an active listener. The first time you use tchat, you will want to establish some etiquette and accountability rules, such as respectful language and constructive criticism. Assign students to watch a news program or political show and have a chat during the broadcast. Revisit the chat on a projector in class the next day or post the chat transcript to a class blog or wiki and have students respond further in blog posts or on the wiki discussion tab. The advantage of backchannel chat is that every student has a voice, no matter how shy.

Use tchat to collaborate with other classrooms or teachers at a distance. Use a whole class Twitter account to contribute to a regular chat. Professionally, teachers can join subject or grade level specific Tweet chats that happen in real time. See the Twitter Chat Schedule, reviewed here or Educational hashtags listings here to find real-time groups you can join using tchat.

Organize your brain and your life with Workflowy. This tool allows you to take notes, make lists and outlines, and use hashtags to create groups of items. Import lists from other documents directly into Workflowy. Share lists with others using the share button, use options to allow them to edit if desired. Quickly create an account using email and a password to begin. Once you create an account, be sure to take advantage of the many tutorial videos demonstrating Workflowy's features. If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable. You could always view them at home and bring them to class "on a stick" to share. Use a tool such as KeepVid, reviewed here, to download the videos from YouTube.

In the Classroom

Any student would appreciate having an online time management account, but learning support students and disorganized gifted students need one. You may want to model using Workflowy to help middle and high school students learn better personal organization. Make a demo account for a mythical student and organize his/her Workflowy together so students can see how it works. Share this site on your interactive whiteboard or projector the first week of school to help students set up their own accounts. Parents may also appreciate learning about this site. Use this site professionally to keep yourself organized!

Develop mind maps, concept maps and a variety of charts with this powerful, easy to use tool. Register with an email to begin. Watch several very comprehensive tutorial videos and get started by downloading XMind. Creation is easy! Simply double click Central Topic and add the topic name. Click tab to add main topics, click tab again to add subtopics. Xmind has many features to add organization to your mind map: Drag and drop arrows to organize, colored boundaries, add images and websites (search the web from within XMind), add Audio Notes, background or wallpaper, and much more. Share your map via PowerPoint, Excel, Evernote, PDF, PNG, JPEG, and several other universal formats. If your district blocks YouTube, the tutorial videos may not be viewable. You could always view them at home and bring them to class "on a stick" to share. Use a tool such as KeepVid, reviewed here, to download the videos from YouTube.This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

To demonstrate this tool, have your class create organizers together, such as in a brainstorming session on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Assign students to "map" out a chapter or story. Assign groups to create study guides using this tool. Use this tool for literature activities, research projects, social studies, or science topics. Use this to create family trees or food pyramids in family and consumer science. Have students collaborate (online) to create group mind maps or review charts before tests on a given subject. Have students organize any concepts you study. They can color code concepts to show what they understand, wonder, and question. Have students map out a story, plot line, or plan for the future. Students can also map out a step-by-step process (such as a life cycle or how to solve an equation).

Use this clever and simple tool to create conversations (or presentations) that look like text messages. Use the icons on the bottom to get started. Email is not required. Clicking either speech bubble will begin the text message, and click the other one to reply. Save the presentation with a password. Share via embed or QR code or URL.

In the Classroom

Engage students with what they know, text messaging! Inform students you will be creating a text conversation between two historical figures, fictional characters, scientists - anything from something the class is reading. On the whiteboard or with a projector display the SMS Generator. Show students how to use it by having them create the conversation. The text is not limited, but keep it reasonable. Besides using SMS Generator for presentations, it could be used to teach or refine social skills, practice writing in a new language, or explaining a math or science concept to a peer.

This recording of an OK2Ask online professional development session from February 2016, opens in Adobe Connect. Gamification is an innovative way to transform classrooms. Learn how to maximize the students' learning potential by using game design and game elements in the classroom. Explore innovative resources and strategies to foster student engagement with gamification methods. This session is appropriate for teachers at Intermediate technology levels.

In the Classroom

Engage your students and inspire your lessons by applying game principles and elements to non-game activities. These activities can be high-tech or low-tech. It is not about the tool as much as it is about the emphasis on game-like mechanics. Start small and become comfortable with the terminology and process. Choose some aspect of your classroom practice to gamify. You might choose to gamify components of professional development, classroom management, centers, entrance/exit slips, activities, or even whole units. Find additional information and links to tools at the session resource page. Learn more about OK2Ask and upcoming sessions here.

Create an intricate paper city that will stand up on its own with the free printables on this site. Choose from several different options including Paris, vehicles, Sydney, dinosaurs, a circus, Aladdin's city, and more. Click on the link to any of the paper creations and follow directions to download, color, and create.This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

Have students use these printables to create a city to correspond with a book they read or for use as a story starter. Use the designs on the site as inspiration for creating your own printable city for any activity. Use as part of a transportation or community unit to share and discuss different components found. ESL/ELL teachers could explore the rest of the site and find coloring pages and other useful items to reinforce vocabulary.

Drafting Board is a blended-learning tool, with a set of six modules that guide you through the steps of creating an argumentative essay. Upon completion of all modules, you will have a complete essay starting with an introduction, counterpoints, and a conclusion. Download information in three parts: an overview to Drafting Board, a self-guided training PowerPoint, and the teaching guide and tips. You must register with iCivics using email to fully access all of the Drafting Board features. Be sure to read all notes on the site for suggested times for completing activities. The overview to Drafting Board is a three minute video, and it will give you an idea of the topics provided. If your district blocks YouTube, the video may not be viewable. You could always view it at home and bring it to class "on a stick" to share. Use a tool such as KeepVid, reviewed here, to download the videos from YouTube.

In the Classroom

This site is an excellent way to teach an argumentative essay. Complete one essay together using the steps provided, then assign students an essay to complete on their own. You may want to give students a choice of topics to write about from 301 Prompts for Argumentative/Persuasive Writing, reviewed here. Upon completion of their essay, challenge students to create a presentation about their topic using Slidestory, reviewed here. Slidestory allows for narration. Be sure to share a link to the site on your class webpage for students to use throughout the year.

KQED Education offers a broad selection of resources for educators and students. Scroll through to find news articles and videos that are frequently published, relating to events around the world. Use the drop down box at the top of the site to view specific topics such as science or news and civics. The drop down for teachers includes links to resources for professional development and integrating articles into the classroom. If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable. You could always view them at home and bring them to class "on a stick" to share. Use a tool such as KeepVid, reviewed here, to download the videos from YouTube.

In the Classroom

Include a link to KQED Education on classroom computers. Be sure to help your weaker readers and ESL/ELL students by sharing the vocabulary words before reading, either on a handout or by projecting them on an interactive whiteboard (or projector). Highlight the vocabulary words in the text as you come to them. Teacher Librarians might want to keep this page open on computers for students who drop by the media center or include news notes from this site as part of your morning announcements. Do you have a student news show on your school TV channel? Find great material here for students to retell in their own words.

Sign up for ThinkCerca's eight free starter lessons and get your students on the road to better critical thinking, close reading, and academic writing. Find a starter kit with 8 lessons teaching students the art of argumentation. Each lesson is 30 minutes long. These lessons contain standards-aligned literacy concepts and vocabulary. Start with Cerca's baseline assessment for writing, and then proceed with the lessons in order since the lessons build on each other. Sign up with your email, first and last name, and school zip code. Create your class or classes, and have students enroll via a class code. Find prompts for ELA, Science, and Social Studies. Math is coming soon (as of this review). The support section has several categories which include specific help directions, and also includes Instructional Strategies, Personalized Learning Models, and Tips and Resources.This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

Students will need to click Sign Up and "I'm a Student." Students will enter their first name and last name so be sure you have parent permission. They will also need an email address. There is a work-a-round for the names and email address. For the first and last name you could have them enter a code, for example, the first two letters of their last name and first three letters of their first name. If students cannot have their own email accounts, ThinkCerca has a suggestion or consider using a "class set" of Gmail subaccounts, explained here; this tells how to set up Gmail subaccounts to use for any online membership service. Once your students have worked through the eight lessons here, you may want to look at 301 Prompts for Argumentative/Persuasive Writing, reviewed here, to help you differentiate future writing lessons.

Take a 2,428 mile road trip along the US/Mexican border to see and read the stories, culture, and goods that come together at the meeting points of these two countries. These 12 stories tell the tale of individuals along the border as told to reporters accompanied by US Border Patrol Agents. Each story includes stunning photography along with personal stories of those living on the border or attempting to cross into the US. The main page also includes a ticker that shows how many vehicles cross the border legally, how many pedestrians cross the border legally, how many people are detained for crossing illegally, and drug information. All of the numbers shown occur during your visit to the site Be sure to preview information before displaying for students as there is some content that may be inappropriate for younger classes.

In the Classroom

Introduce this site on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Then have students explore this site independently or in small groups. Assign a story to different student groups to explore and share with the class. Challenge students to create an infographic sharing their findings using Piktochart reviewed here.

Ask the Judge provides information and answers for teens relating to the law. Scroll through the homepage to view the latest blog entries relating to court and law issues. Choose the Teen Help Network link to find resources by state, including attorneys, classes for teens, drug treatment programs, and more. Receive answers to questions about the law in the teen chat room by posting your question or reading through questions and responses provided by Judge Tom. Be sure to check out the "Your Rights" portion of the site with extensive information about teen rights at school, on the Internet, and much more.This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

Ask the Judge explores many topics of high interest to teens; introduce it on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Then have students explore this site independently or in small groups. Have students create an annotated image including text boxes and related links using a tool such as Thinglink, reviewed here, to demonstrate different rights of teens. Share with school counselors as an excellent resource of information for students and as a resource for finding specific help in your state for youth who are in trouble. Use as part of a civil rights unit as you research real cases involving teens, have students find other similar situations and compare legal outcomes.

Genius allows you to "Annotate the World." Begin with the music portion of the site to view lyrics and crowdsourced knowledge for thousands of songs. In addition to music, Genius also offers annotations for literature, news, sports, TV shows, and movies. Search any section to find specific content or browse through the latest offerings. Install the Chrome extension to use Genius's Web Annotator and add your own notes to any web page or put genius.it in front of any URL to annotate and read other user's notes on any web page. If your district blocks YouTube, some portions may not be viewable. You could always view the videos at home and bring them to class "on a stick" to share. Use a tool such as KeepVid, reviewed here, to download the videos from YouTube. Important: Content is not moderated, be sure to PREVIEW and check for inappropriate content before using with students.

In the Classroom

After creating an account, type Teacher's Guide in the search box to find the link for a very complete guide. The guide has information for using Genius in the classroom and creating accounts. Use the information found with literature selections to build Common Core skills analyzing informational texts. Use the site to post and share discussion assignments on specific articles or even parts of articles. Find a relevant article to your subject. Highlight the part that you want students to read. For younger students, keep it short to reduce the intimidating reality of too much information for kids. Attach a note with a discussion question for the students. Have them comment on the link in a "class discussion" as an outside assignment.

The World Affairs Council (WAC) is online to help you understand global issues. Find free lesson plans and templates categorized by Comparative World Affairs, Conflict Analysis/Mapping, Culture and Communication, Freedom of the Press, and Justice. You'll also find links to Other Materials and Webinars.This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

Take advantage of these free lesson plans and templates hosted by WAC. Use these in conjunction with their archive on YouTube for their weekly program World Affairs TODAY. Their YouTube channel contains various topics; some are specific such as Spying on Germany and Other Allies or Emerging Africa, and some are more general like global warming (or climate change) and the failure of the global economy.

In today's world, we need to understand and get involved in global issues. The World Affairs Council (WAC) is online to help you do that. Click on About Us to read the history of the World Affairs Council (WAC), find an explanation about their Global Education Program, information about their summer institute, and read about their Public Programs with the weekly national television program World Affairs TODAY; find out where to see the broadcast or get a link to the YouTube channel. There is a student section that describes their annual contest called WorldQuest. Explore the drop down menu tabs across the top and find free lesson plans and templates (under Resources), upcoming events, local WAC councils, and much more. If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable. You could always view them at home and bring them to class "on a stick" to share. Use a tool such as KeepVid, reviewed here, to download the videos from YouTube.This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

Thanks to instantaneous news shows and social media, the students of the 21st Century are very aware of global issues. That is not to say they understand them. Start a current events program in your class, you may want to look at Newsela, reviewed here, TweenTribune, reviewed here, or Flocabulary, reviewed here. Then turn to the World Affairs Council and their YouTube channel to get explanations about global issues. The topics are extensive; some are specific and some are more general like global warming (or climate change) and the failure of the global economy. All are current, and all will give your students a different perspective on the topic. With older students, each week you could put a different small group in charge of featuring a current event and ask them to research its history, and see if they can also find the topic on the WAC YouTube channel. Have those students create an annotated, narrated image including text boxes and related links using a multimedia tool such as Thinglink, reviewed here, to present to the class.